| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | about 4 cups |
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cups Popped Corn, recipe follows
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup toasted cashews
Instructions
- Place sugar in a saucepan. Pour water around the sides of the pan. Make an X with your finger across the sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the pan, until the mixture turns a caramel color. Remove from the heat, add the butter carefully as it will bubble up, add popped corn, and toasted nuts. Pour onto a silicone baking mat or foil lined cookie sheet. Break into clusters while still warm.
- To make popcorn on the stove: put 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot with high sides, and add 1 kernel of corn. Heat oil over medium-high heat until the kernel pops. Add 1/3 cup corn kernels and shake pan continuously until all the kernels are popped.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 297 |
| Total Fat | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 53 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 51 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 4 mg |
| Sodium | 3 mg |
Reviews
1.) NOT to stir the mixture (other recipes will tell you this) until it is very close to the end
2.) use high heat
3.) have the popcorn ready and over the tin foil or silicone the SECOND you shut off the heat; the mixture hardens in a matter of seconds. I would also advise to use way more popcorn than the recipe says, unless you want it EXTREMELY sugary.
Overall the mixture does look and taste like caramel. Be careful because it is very hot.
Both times, the sugar cooked but never turned caramel colored. The first time, I knew I was cooking it for too long, but I let it go anyway. When I finally gave up and added the butter, the whole pot turned to sandy sugar and was garbage.
The second time, I did the same thing, and still no caramel color. I stopped sooner and added the butter regardless, and it seemed ok, but when I poured it on the popcorn, it just hardened into another big sandy mess.
Complete waste of time and ingredients.
It’s really easy to make, and you don’t have to swirl the pan every waiting moment. (I swirled it about every minute or so. It’s more important to swirl it constantly closer to the end when the syrup mixture starts to darken.)
For added flavor, add 1/2-1 tsp of good vanilla once all of the sugar becomes dissolved in the water.
I’m packaging up portions of this to hand out at work for the holidays.